Elliott column: Area man brings in Kill to speak

A love of college and high school sports made Tim Hennen take on a a daunting project.

“You can take the Vikings and put them on Pig’s Eye as far as I’m concerned,” the 1968 Rocori High School graduate said. “I’d rather go to a Tech High School game at the old Tiger stadium (Clark Field) than anything else.”

The Wisconsin-Stout graduate also is a big fan of the Minnesota Gophers.

He’s a season-ticket holder for football games, with seats in the first row of the 47-yard line at TCF Bank Stadium. He has pictures on his cell phone of his seats. He even followed Minnesota to its bowl game last season.

It’s how he got to meet Gophers head coach Jerry Kill and how he asked him to come speak at a fundraiser May 5 at the 400 Supper Club on Pleasant Lake.

Kill agreed to come because it’s a fundraiser for the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota, Hennen said.

Kill has had seizures during games.

“That’s how I got him out here, through the epilepsy foundation,” Hennen said.

Hennen, semi-retired and a small-business owner, isn’t sure exactly why he has thrust himself into the fundraiser, which includes a dinner and has a head table full of dignitaries.

At this point, however, he is in it full-bore.

“This is my first rodeo for anything this big,” said Hennen, who operates Veterans Painting.

He put a committee together, then realized it wasn’t going fast enough to suit him.

“I realized if I don’t do it myself, it isn’t going to get done,” he said.

Besides Kill, officials from the Epilepsy Foundation, the University of Minnesota and St. Cloud State are expected to attend.

Hennen is also a season ticket holder for SCSU football and men’s hockey. Hennen said Huskies football coach Scott Underwood has told him he will attend.

All of this is a huge undertaking. The costs are all on Hennen. Tickets are $30. Hennen said he would like to sell 500 tickets to the event, either individually or through corporate tables.

The Rockville Sportsman’s Club is the sponsor, primarily because it is licensed with the state as a private, non-profit, enabling the Kill event to be an offical fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.

Hennen wonders how many Gopher football fans are in the area and would like to hear Kill speak.

He is about to find out.

This is the opinion of Times prep sports coordinator Tom Elliott. For tickets to the Kill event, call Tim Hennen at 291-2439. Contact Elliott at 259-3661 or at telliott@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @sctimestom.